Brilliant movie. Brilliantly acted all around. Just fucking brilliant. The greatest courtroom movie I have ever seen (possible exception is The Verdict, but I have to see that one again to refresh my opinion).

Every lawyer gets a kick out of:Ben Gazzara: "How can a jury disregard what they've already heard?Jimmy Stewart: "It can't!"

Agreed

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"When you feel that rope tighten on your neck you can feel the devil bite your ass"!

Stand Up Guys (2013) 3/10. Pacino and Walken, together again for the first time! And why not throw Alan Arkin into the mix, too? And then, make them gangsters. Old gangsters. Hey, it's Grumpy Old Goodfellas: what a concept! Stories that sentimentalize old people are bad enough; stories that sentimentalize criminals are worse: but a story that sentimentalizes people who are both old and criminals? Where do I go to vomit?

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That's what you get, Drink, for being such an annoying Melville fanboy.

Stand Up Guys (2013) 3/10. Pacino and Walken, together again for the first time! And why not throw Alan Arkin into the mix, too? And then, make them gangsters. Old gangsters. Hey, it's Grumpy Old Goodfellas: what a concept! Stories that sentimentalize old people are bad enough; stories that sentimentalize criminals are worse: but a story that sentimentalizes people who are both old and criminals? Where do I go to vomit?

After the boring Hurt locker this demure thriller (some may call it realistic) is a very positive surprise. The characters are what they wear and what they do. No explanations, no patriotism, no racism, no adjudgement. Just a bunch of guys doing their job with passion (but it could be another one) which happens to be catching terrorists, which includes torturing people. Directing is pretty good, pretty inspired, but the real trump in Bigelow's film is the ever incredible Jessica Chastain. Bigelow's best work so far. 9/10

I don't get y'all's fixation with Jessica Chastain; she is good not great, both in looks and acting performance.

That scene where she screams at her CIA boss to pay attention to her hunches, is so fucking pathetic I was laughing. She was awful in that scene; also in the scene where she says (paraphrasing) "some of my friends died doing this, I have to complete the job" is pretty bad.

Overall though, it's definitely not a bad performance. But it ain't worthy of any Best Actress award either. The fact that Chastain received an Oscar nomination is just the latest example of what a joke the Oscars are.

IMO the two great performances are by the lead males -- Jason Clarke, the CIA interrogator; and Reda Kateb, the terrorist he is interrogating.

I hated the chapter headings.

There is a little something missing that prevents it from reaching its full potential, it is not a great movie, but it is a solid 8/10 and I do think everyone should see it at least once.

There is an opening subtitle that says the movie is based on true events based on the accounts of those who participated. I am sure that it's harder to determine that in the case of this movie than any other, due to the classified nature of some of the info; I have no clue how much of this is true, I'll leave that to the history buffs like Groggy to do the research on.

I did not like the ending how it closes on Chastain crying; though the movie may be about her persistence paying off, once bin Laden was killed, it should have focused more on the happy aftermath of that rather than on Chastain's personal emotions.

« Last Edit: December 08, 2017, 01:28:44 AM by drinkanddestroy »

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There are three types of people in the world, my friend: those who can add, and those who can't.

Groundhog Day - 9/10 - ?th viewing - Deserves all its praise and then some.

The Damned - 8/10 - Visconti's epic chronicle of industrial backstabbing in Nazi Germany falls just short of a masterpiece. The story is deliciously complex, the characters marvelously hateful and Visconti stages the big set pieces (especially the Night of the Long Knives) with his usual flair. Great acting from all involved, with top honors to Helmut Griem's preening SS creep and Ingrid Thulin's Frau Macbeth. Unfortunately the bottom drops out in the last 20 minutes: too many story threads rush to a conclusion, and Helmut Berger's character goes from frightening pervert to cartoon grotesque.

Overall though, it's definitely not a bad performance. But it ain't worthy of any Best Actress award either. The fact that Chastain received an Oscar nomination is just the latest example of what a joke the Oscars are.

The Leopard - 8/10 - 3rd viewing, 1st of the extended cut. Absorbing, beautiful, but long Visconti epic. Visconti makes full use of an epic canvas: ravishing photography, decor and music, sharp characterizations, literate script, cynically complex politics, effective romance subplots. Flawless cast: Burt Lancaster is appropriately grave and commanding. Oddly, dubbing him in Italian helps mask his usual persona. Has there ever been a prettier couple than Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale? Funny support from Romolo Valli and Paolo Stoppa, and Terence Hill has a prominent role. The film drags a bit in its middle sections, but even the slower parts are gorgeous to watch.